It's round umpteenzillion for the U.S. vs. Germany in Saints and Soldiers, yet another WWII film that aims to take you behind enemy lines and into the thick of battle.

Saints and Soldiers is lovingly produced on a small budget by Ryan Little, a young director who seems obsessed with WWII. The story is based on actual events in mid-December, 1944 in Belgium (at least as they are understood today) at the Battle of the Bulge. Americans are captured by the Germans, and when they try to escape, a number are gunned down. The handful of survivors escape into the woods and try to figure out how to get back to the Allies, made all the more important due to critical information held by a British officer they encounter along the way.

Cineastes, take note. There's an awful lot of independent film coming out of one place in America: Salt Lake City. As you might expect, all of these films are made by Mormons, about Mormonism. I think it may be a way to do missionary work without having to move someplace inhospitable.

Regardless, these films tend to have one thing in common: the plot. In fact, you can almost say that if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. God's Army, the king daddy of all Mo-flicks, has become an archetype for the genre, which generally comprises a bunch of Mormon missionaries (called Elders) living in cramped, frat-boy-style conditions in a place far from home, each overcoming personal obstacles as they try to find converts.